The college admissions essay can be classified broadly as a single genre because the purpose (to get into college) and the audience (the college admissions board) are the same for every author, no matter what institution he or she is writing to. Of course, the Common Application is currently the leading tool in the admissions process. As those of us who used the Common App know, there are five prompts for the main essay, all of which leave students with room for creativity. These five prompts might be separated into sub-genres, because of the different style or process each prompt could require. For example, the way one student might choose to write about his or her triumph over failure would probably be different than the way another student might write about his or her experience with standing up for a belief. Unfortunately, for some, there is too much artistic license in comparison to a typical high school paper, which usually has a more particular formula. Fortunately, however, many students find it easier to write about themselves as it usually requires no research and they can tell their own story the way they want to. A benefit of the college admissions essay is the personal style in which most students get to write. At my high school in particular, we wrote a lot of really formal papers, which, of course, seldom talked about our own interests, and, therefore, were less driven by passion. I actually found it fun to write about myself and my interests because it felt more personal and a little less formal. Nonetheless, the college admissions essay should not be sloppy, as if we were just telling a story to our friends. In my experience, it was a little difficult to loosen up and write about myself just because I had gotten so used to writing about whatever my teacher wanted me to and citing sources to support my ideas, but once I started writing and began to feel comfortable, I found it really enjoyable.